Wipeout (video game)
Wipeout (video game) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Wipeout Developer(s) Psygnosis Publisher(s) Psygnosis Designer(s) Psygnosis, The Designers Republic Platform(s) PlayStation, Sega Saturn, PC MS-DOS, PC Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Network Release date(s) PlayStation JP March 22, 1996 NA November 1995 PAL September 29, 1995 PC NA November 1995 PAL October 1995 Sega Saturn JP July 12, 1996 NA March 5, 1996 PAL February 1996 Amiga 1999 Genre(s) Racing Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer (for PlayStation via link cable) Rating(s) ESRB: Kids to Adults Wipeout (stylized in promotional materials as wipE'out'') is the first in a series of futuristic racing video games developed and published by Psygnosis. It was originally released in 1995 for Sony PlayStation and PCs running MS-DOS, and in 1996 for Sega Saturn and Amiga with ppc hardware. In 2007, it was re-released for download on the PlayStation Store, first for PlayStation Portable on March 8, then made playable on PlayStation 3 months later.12 Contents hide * 1 Gameplay * 2 Development and release * 3 Music * 4 Reception * 5 See also * 6 References * 7 External links edit Gameplay Set in the year 2052, players compete in the F3600 anti-gravity racing league, piloting one of a selection of craft in races on several different tracks. There are four different racing teams to choose from, each ship with its own distinct characteristics of acceleration, top speed, mass, and turning radius. By piloting their craft over power-up pads found on the tracks, the player can pick up shields, turbo boosts, mines, shock waves, rockets, or missiles, which protect the player's craft or disrupt the competitors' craft. There are seven racetracks in the game total, six of them located in futuristic versions of countries such as Canada and Japan, with a seventh, hidden track set on Mars. edit Development and release Gameplay from the PlayStation version of Wipeout. Wipeout was developed and published by Psygnosis, designed in part by The Designers Republic. Aimed at a somewhat older audience than what were traditional gamers at the time, the game was designed with several marketing possibilities in mind to appeal to this fashionable, club-going, music-buying audience. The Designers Republic created art for the game's packaging, in-game branding, and other promotional materials. Music tracks were licensed from non-mainstream electronica acts to create an original soundtrack album to promote the game. Wipeout was released alongside the Sony PlayStation in Europe in September 1995. It was the first non-Japanese game for the console. Two months later in November 1995, it was released in the U.S. The game went to number one in the all format charts, with over 1.5 million units of the franchise having been sold to date throughout Europe and North America.needed Launch activities for the game included installation of PlayStation consoles running Wipeout in popular night clubs, the release of an accompanying soundtrack music CD, and the sale of a range of Wipeout clubwear. The Saturn version of the game, released in 1996, lacked some of the visual flair due to its difficulty to utilize multi-processor configuration. Particle effects were dropped in favor of simple sprites for weapon graphics, however, it ran slightly faster than its PlayStation counterpart.needed In 1996, an OEM edition of Wipeout was bundled with new Sony Vaio PC's utilizing ATI's 3D Rage chipset. This 3D accelerated edition using the ATI3DCIF API provided additional resolutions of up to 640x480 pixels as well as bilinear filtering. This version also made use of the 3D Rage's MPEG acceleration. edit Music The game's electronica soundtrack was composed by Tim Wright under the alias CoLD SToRAGE. Additional songs by Leftfield, The Chemical Brothers, and Orbital were included in the PAL version of the PlayStation game, while the Saturn version included three songs by Rob Lord & Mark Bandola. hideTrack listing * CoLD SToRAGE - "Cairodrome" * CoLD SToRAGE - "Cardinal Dancer" * CoLD SToRAGE - "Cold Comfort" * CoLD SToRAGE - "Doh T" * CoLD SToRAGE - "Messij" * CoLD SToRAGE - "Operatique" * CoLD SToRAGE - "Tentative" * CoLD SToRAGE - "Transvaal" * Rob Lord & Mark Bandola - "Brickbat" (Saturn exclusive) * Rob Lord & Mark Bandola - "Planet 9" (Saturn exclusive) * Rob Lord & Mark Bandola - "Poison" (Saturn exclusive) * Leftfield - "Afro-Ride" (PlayStation PAL exclusive) * Chemical Brothers - "Chemical Beats" (PlayStation PAL exclusive) * Orbital - "Petrol (Wipeout mix)" (PlayStation PAL exclusive - simply titled "Wipeout" in-game) A separately sold official soundtrack album was released to promote the game. It featured a largely varied song selection in contrast to the music included in the actual game. edit Reception This section requires expansion. * Official PlayStation Magazine UK: 8 out of 10 (80%) * IGN: 8.0 out of 10 (80%) (PlayStation version reviewed) * Edge (magazine): 8 out of 10 (PlayStation version reviewed) edit See also * Wipeout (video game series) edit References 1. ^ http://psp.vggen.com/news/news.php?id=4182 2. ^ http://threespeech.com/blog/2007/06/ps-store-release-dates-confirmation/ edit External links * Discogs entry: European PlayStation edition * Discogs entry: North American PlayStation edition * Discogs entry: Sega Saturn edition